Lifestyle

Blurring the intersex line

Simon Corbell has announced the government’s response to the ACT Law Reform Advisory Council’s report ‘Beyond the Binary: legal recognition of sex and gender diverse people in
the ACT’

Recognising that the old certainty that men are men and women are women doesn’t recognise the vast grey areas in between the response offers to major reforms:

Major reforms to be implemented in response to this report include:

— changes to the BDMR Act on birth of an intersex child; and

— abolition of the requirement that a person undergo sexual reassignment surgery before being allowed to change their sex on their birth certificate. This requirement will be replaced with criteria that are consistent with the recent High Court decision in AB v State of WA.

Simon explains it thusly:

“Sex and gender diverse people regularly experience discrimination and barriers when applying for legal records or documents that acknowledge sex or gender identity because many systems, even some laws, are simply not designed for anyone beyond the standard male/female categories.” Mr Corbell said.

“The ACT Government is proposing reforms to overcome these barriers, and will seek to remove sexual reassignment surgery as a requirement for changing a person’s registered sex.

“References to sex and gender diverse people will also be progressively amended in legislation and data collection practices by public authorities to ensure accuracy and consistency, aiming to break down any linguistic barriers to legal recognition.

“The Government will extend the time allowed for registration of the birth of a child, including their sex.

“This will address time pressures faced by parents of intersex babies, where decisions about registration of the child’s sex can be complex, and require time to let parents get information and make necessary decisions.”